Rebellion Brewery recreates classic Winter Royal beer for Christmas

A classic winter beer last brewed in Marlow about 30 years ago has been recreated in the town especially for Christmas.

Winter Royal, once made by the old Wethered Brewery, which closed in 1987, has been brought back for festive drinkers courtesy of the Rebellion Brewery, in Marlow Bottom.

About 8,000 pints of the dark ale have been concocted at the Bencombe Farm brewery, all using barley grown in nearby fields.

“The idea was spurred on by the fact that we had bought some barley from the farmer here,” said brewing director Mark Gloyens.

“It just seemed to tie in together quite nicely – having the original recipe brewed locally and using local ingredients.”

He added that it also coincided with the latest phase of redevelopment at the site, which over the past years has seen the construction of a new shop and a massive increase in brewing capacity.

Improvements to bottling and labelling facilities are due to start in the New Year.

After the Wethered Brewery shut, production of Winter Royal moved to the Flowers Brewery, in Cheltenham, and then to Castle Eden Brewery, in County Durham.

Although Rebellion later acquired the recipe for Winter Royal, they were unable to brew it under the name as the copyright was held by beer giant AB InBev.

However, after it had gone unsold for a number of years Rebellion submitted their own application for a trademark which went uncontested, allowing them to bring it back to Marlow once more.